Radiator or heater



Aug. 31 1926.

1,597,721 W. IH. CARRIER :RADIATOR OR HEATER 2 sheds-'sheet 1 Fil'ed Jan. 25, 192s w. H. CARRIER RADIATORAOR HEATER wwf/vra?.

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Patented Ang.' 3l, 19262 Unirse Tas Marot-*Fica WILLIS H. CARRIER, OF ESSEX FELLS., NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNDB, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENT, TO CARRIER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC., 0F NEW, NEW JERSEY.

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Application niet! January 25, 1928., Serial No. 614,831.

- This invention relates more particularly to tubular radiators or heaters of that klnd comprising opposite headers connected by radiating tubes through which steam or other medium is caused to flow and which are .spaced apart to permit air or other medium to pass between or around .the tubes. The change in temperature which can be produced by such a heater or radiator, other things being equal, depends upon the number of successive rows or groups of tubes that it has. As an illustration, a heater having four rows of tubes, one behind another, is adapted to produce approximately a 100 rise in temperature of air passing through the heater. It is desirable, however, in some` classes of work, 'for instance in the heating of public buildings, to be able to. graduate the effect of the heater so as to give, for example, diderent heating eects of say 25, 50, 75 or 100 or thereabouts. This would not be commercially practical with a heater having a plurality of lrows or groups of tubes all controlled by the same valve or valves. Such results could be obtained by the use oit four complete one-row heaters, but a plurality of one-row heaters is expensive on account of the separate' headers, pipe. connections and valves required for each heater. mechanically on account of having to deend upon a frame, casing or bracing means 1n addition to the tubes to give the required rigidity in the heater.

One object of this invention is to produce a practical and efficient tubular radiator or heater having a plurality of rows or groups of radiating tubes, for instance four rows of such tubes,` all of which connect with the same headers, so that only two headers are required for all ofthe tubes, and to provide the heateror radiator with controlling means whereby any one or more of the rows of tubes can be cut olf or utilizedso as to -enable the heating effect of the radiator or heater to be graduated in accordance with the number of rows or groups ot tubes Iof which it is composed. -Other objects are to so construct a multip1e-row or group tubular radiator or heater thatthe minimum number of valves and pipe connections are required to enable the use of any one or more ot the rows or groups of tubes; and more sgecically to provide a heater or radiator aving four rows or groups of radiating tubes in which A single-row heater vis `also poor sired; and also to improve tubular radiators or heaters in the other respects hereinafter described and set :forth inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig..1 is an elevation ot a radiator-or heater comprising two units, embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view-thereof. Y

Fig. 3 is a :fragmentoJ horizontal section of the up r header an valve box thereof, on an en arged scale.

Fig, 4 is a 'transverse Vsectional elevation on line 1-4, Fig. 1 on a still lar r scale.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitu inal vertical section on llne 5--5, Fig. 8, of the per valve 4box and adjacent portion of header. 4

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section of the valve box on line 6 6, Fig. 3.

The radiator or heater illustrated and described in this application as a practical embodiment ot Amy invention is primarily designed as a steam heater, steam being used in the radiating tubes for heating air which caused to pass over the external surfaces of the tubes, but `the invention is not necessarily restricted inl application to steam heaters for heating air since radiators the medium which contacts with the external surfaces of the tubes.

The radiator comprises parallel, spaced radiating tubes l0 preferably arranged vertically and connected at their ends to o posite, or upper and lower, headers 11 an 12, which are respectively connected with suitable inlet and outlet pipes 13' and 14, so that steam or other medium admitted to one of the headers is adapted to pass through lthe radiating tubes to the other header and discharge through the outlet pipe 14 connected with the latter header. The

radiator'Y tubes are preferably thin tubes of 105 brass or other metal of high conductivity,

provided with radiating fins formed by thin strips or ribbons of brass or the like wound helically around the tubes and soldered or.

brazed thereon. Tubes of any other con- 110 struction adapted to give the r uired l'radiation can he used, however. T ese tubes `vare arranged in a plurality of rows...or

groups, for instance as shown in the radiator illustrated, in four parallel rows, one behind another, the tubes in one row being preferably arranged opposite the spaces between the tubes in the next row so as to better insure contact of the air or other external medium with all' of the tubes of the radiator. Each header consists of a hollow shell or castingl having an openin 16 extending along one side thereof, and a exible tube plate 17 which closes the opening of the shell, and is provided with holes in which the radiating `tubes 10 are secured, preferably by a driving fit in lips or flanges surroundlng the holes. This tube plate is preferably a thin late or sheet of brass or of the same meta as the radiating tubes.

In the construction shown, the headerA shell 15 consists of a rigid casting provided with lateral flanges 18 bounding the opening 16 and the tube plate 'is bolted at its edges to these flanges, a suitable packing or asket being inte osed between the tube p ate and the shell anges to insure a steam-tight joint. Bolting l or clamping pieces 19' are also preferably employed at the outer face of the tube plate for the bolts to bear u on to insure a strong and secure connection llietween the tube plate and header shell. The headers are lalso shown as being formed with end boltin fianges 20, and preferably the o posite en s of each header have the same orm and the upper and lower headers are alike, thereby enab mg the parts to be interchanged and reve .s When the radiator consists of onlyone unit or section constructed as described,fone end of each header 11 and 12 is closed b a suitable cap plate'or' closure 21 bol to the flange at this lend of the header and a valve box or pipe connection is similarl secured to the opposite end of each header or the connection of the inlet or outlet-pipe 13 or 14, these valve boxes or connections 22 and 23 being provided with valves, as hereinafter explained, for-controlling the flow of the steam or other medium through the radiator. Radiators of different desired lengths can be madeby 'oining together end to end two or more suc units of the same or different lengths, by means of-bolts connecting the end flanges of the headers of the sections `or units. In such a multi le-unit radiator the outer ends of the hea ers at one end of the 'radiator are closed by cap plates 21, while the valve boxes or pi e connections are provided at the outer en of the headers at the other end of the radiator.

The shell 15 of each of the headers is divided into a plurality of compartments extending lengthwise of the header by longitudinal webs or partitions 24 which extend from the outerwall of the shell to and are adapted to bear at their'edges against the tube plate 17. In the radiator shown, in which the tubesare arran ed in four rows, each header is provided with two such partitions dividing the header into three longitudinal compartments, the so disposed that one row o tubes connects with each outer compartment of the headers and the remaining two central rows of tubes connect with the central compartments of the headers. The artitionsextend from end to end of the he' ers so that there is no communication between the tubes connecting with different compartments of the headers except through the valve box or. pipe connection 22 or 23. l

The valve box or' pipe connection for each header, like the header, is divided .by webs or partitions 25 into compartments 26, 27 and 28 each communicating with a, separate compartment of the header. The valve boxes 22 and 23 are alike except that the dischargel box 23 can be, and is shown as smaller, since it is not necessary yfor this box to be as large as the su ply or inlet valve box in a steam heater. o hand valves 29and 30 ofv any suitable construction control two ofthe compartments of the valve box, these valves preferably being arranged to seat upon two valve seats at the-outer ends of the two compartments 26 and 27 so that when the valves are seated these two compartments are cut olf from the third compartment 28 of the valve box and from a chamber 31 in the valve boxjwithwhich the inlet or outlet pipe con- `nects. h Saidv third compartment 28 of the valve box is always in open communication with the chamber 31 and when the two valves are closed as shown in Fi 3, the steam or other medium can pass rom the supply pipe 13 only into the outer compartment 28 of the upper valve box 22 and thence through the communicating compartment of the upper header and the connecting outer row of tubes 10 into the corresponding compartments of the lower vheader and discharge, valve box and out through the discharge pipe 14. Thus when both valves are closed the steam or other medium pas/ses only through one row of the tubes and only this row is active, the remaining rows of tubes being Ashut off. Ifit is desired to utilize two rows of tubes, the inlet and outlet valves 29 are opened thereby admitting the steam or medium to ythe other outer row of tubes so that then the two outer rows of tubes will be supplied Iwith, the steam or other medium yand t partitions being l tral rows of tubes and the third row of tubes which connects with the open compartments 28 of the valve boxes. In order to use all four rows of the tubes, both of the valves 29 'and 30 for each header are opened when the steam or medium will be admitted to all four rows of tubes.

By the construction described it will be' seen that with only two inlet and two outlet valves it is possible to utilize one, two, three or four rows of the tubes, as may be required, and it is not necessary to provide an inlet and an outlet valve for each row of tubes as would be necessary in the case of a plurality of single-row heaters in which each row of tubes has its separate inlet and outlet header. When it is desired to entirely shut oit the heater, this-can be done by closing the usual valve (not shown) in the supply pipe.

If the steam or other medium is admitted to a part only of the rows of tubes, there. will be a difference in the expansion and contraction of these tubes and of the remaining rows of tubes to which the steam or medium is not admitted, but the tube plates 17 by which the tubes are connected to the headers are flexible and permit such unequal expansion and contraction ot the tubes in the different rows. The partition webs 25 of the headers are held in firm contact with the tube plates by suitable tension devices 32 at opposite sides of the radiator which tend to draw the opposite headers towards each other, so that when such unequal expansion of the tubes in different rows occurs, the tube plates can fiex over the inner edges of the partition webs which will thus maintain a closure between the adjacent compart-y ments of the headers and prevent the escape of the steam or medium from one compartment to the other notwithstanding the inequality in the expansion of the tubes in the different rows. For example, when one of the outer rows of tubes is heated and expands more than the remaining tubes the tension devices connecting the headers at this side of the radiator will permit the headers to spread apart at this side under the expansion of the tubes, and the tube plates 17 will be drawn tightly against the inner edges of the adjacent partitions `and prevent communication between theouter and middle compartments of the headers. Likewise when the two outer rows of tubes expand to a greater extent than the two inner rows, the opposite edges of the tube plates will flex and the plate'will be drawn taut against the edges of the header partitions. if the steam is admittedto the two central rows of tubes and not to the two outer rows, thus causing greater expansion ot the twoinner rows, the central portions of the tube plates can fiex with the expansion of the tubes, thus drawing or holding sure firm bearing of' the tube plates against the inner edges of the header partitions and a tight closure between the adjacent compartments of each header.

ings, consist of rods secured by nuts-to the flanges of one header and passing loosely through holes in the flanges of the other header, springs 33 surrounding the rods between the latter flanges and nuts 34 screwed on the rods. The movement of the headers towards each other by the springs is limited by screw nuts 35 on the rods and engaging the inner faces of the bolting pieces. The nuts 34 can be adjusted to regulate the spring pressure on the headers. Any other tension means suitable for the purpose could be used.

l claim as my invention l. A. tubular radiator comprising a plu-` 2. A tubular radiator comprising a plurality of groups of radiating tubes, a header having a plurality of separate compartments each communicating with a different group of said tubes and each having open ends ,at opposite ends of said header, a removable closure for closing said compartments at one end of the header, a pipe connection which forms a closure for said com partmentsat the other end of the header, said pipe connection being provided with a iiuid inlet and with compartments each communicating with one of the header compartments, and valves for opening 'andiclosing communication between said inlet and one or more of said compartments in the pipe connection.

3. A tubularvradiator comprising a plurality of groups of radiating tubes, a header having a plurality of separate compartments each communicating with a different group of said tubes, a pipe connection provided with a fluid inlet and with compartments each communicatingwith [one of the header compartments, one of the compart-I The tension devices 32 shown in the drawrio ments of said pipe connection being in open communication with said fluid inlet, and valves for opening and closing communication between said fluid inlet and said other compartments of the pipe connections.

4. A tubular radiator comprising four groups of radiating tubes, a header having three separate compartments, one communicating with two of said groups of tubes and each of the two remaining compartments communicating with one of said groups of tubes, a fluid connection for said header in open communication with one of' the two last mentioned compartments of' the header, and two valves for opening and closing communication between said inlet an'd the other two compartments of the header.

5. A tubular radiator comprising a plurality of radiating tubes, a header for said tubes lcomprising a shell open along one side and a flexible tube plate which closes the open side of the shell and in-Which the tubes are secured, said tube plate being adapted to flex due to the expansion and l contraction of th-e radiating tubes said shell having a longitudinal partition which bears along one edge against said tube plate whereby said partition and tube plate'divide the header into separated compart ments each communicating with a portion only of said tubes.

6. A tubular radiator comprising aplurality of radiating tubes, a header for said tubes comprising a shell lWhich is open .along one side and is formed with one or more integral partitions each having one edge extending along the open side of the shell, and a flexible tube plate in which the tubes are secured and which is secured to the periphery of said -shell and bears against the edge of each partition to form a plurality of separated compartments in the header each communicating with a portion only of the tubes, said radiator hav-- ing provision` for retaining said tube plate in contact with said partition for preventing communication between said compartments.

7. A tubular radiator comprising a plurality of radiating tubes, headers for the opposite ends of -said tubes, each header comprising a shell which is open ,along one side and is formed with a partition having one edge extending along the open side of the shell, anda flexible tube plate in which the tubes are secured and which closes the open side of the shell and is adapted to `bear ,against the edge of said partition to .form a plurality of' compartments in the header, each communicating with a portion only of the tubes, and tension means acting on said headers to hold said partitions against said tube plates.

VILLIS H. CARRIER. 

